Go, Strengthen Thyself
By GEO. M. BROWN
There had been a great battle between Ahab, king of Israel, and Benhadad, king of Syria, and Ahab was the victor. To this victorious king in his hour of triumph came the prophet with the warning: “Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.” 1 Kings 20:22. To the casual observer it might seem strange that such a warning should be sent to one who had been so successful, but after carefully considering the circumstances, it will be apparent that the admonition was timely. Ahab, because of his success, was liable to be careless, and feel that, having defeated his enemy once, it would be easy to do so again. It was immediately after the great victory over Jericho that Israel fled from the men of Ai, and the Lord saw that Ahab was in danger of suffering from self-confidence and lack of preparation. God also saw the plottings of Benhadad against Israel, and knew that his defeat had not discouraged him, but had increased his eagerness for another battle by adding a thirst for revenge to his desire for conquest, thus giving him a double incentive for renewing the war. How is it in the Christian warfare, my brother? Have not some of your most disastrous defeats followed closely after great victories? Have you not sometime attended a good meeting where you received a great blessing and renewed your vows of consecration to God, feeling that never again would you doubt him or yield to Satan’s temptations? Soon after, perhaps before you reached home, did not something unexpected arise, and before you recognized it as a snare of the enemy, you were caught, thus losing your victory and falling into sin and discouragement? Why was this? It was because carelessness and self-confidence took the place of watchfulness and trust in God. You did not strengthen yourself to meet the return of the enemy. Had you heeded the warning given to Israel’s king, the victory would have been a call to strengthen yourself, and then when the enemy came, he would have found you prepared, and he would have been the defeated one instead of you. The pride and unbending will which led Lucifer to rebel, when an angel in glory, leads him to persist in his warfare against God and his people, and he will not give up the struggle because he loses a battle or two. No! he simply redoubles his efforts, and masking his batteries more skilfully, renews his attack. Our Captain knows all the enemy’s arts and devices, and if we follow him, he will instruct us and strengthen us so that we may go forward, conquering and to conquer until the final victory is won, and we stand on the sea of glass and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. Paul said: “When I am weak, then am I strong.” The reverse is also true, and no one is in greater danger than he who, thinking he is strong, is overconfident and careless. Much has been said and written to encourage the discouraged and defeated. These few words are written to caution the confident and successful against the feeling of security which leads to that carelessness which invites attack from the enemy of our souls, and ends in discouragement and defeat. “Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest.”